Naruto City A Dame To Kill For
by Ninja Master
Summary: Itachi's thinking of all the ways he's screwed up and what he'd give for one clear chance to wipe the slate clean, to dig his way out of the numb gray hell that is his life. And he'd give anything. Just to cut loose. Just to feel the fire. One more time.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

It's another hot night, dry and windless. The kind that makes people do sweaty, secret things. I wait and I listen. For a while it's a quiet as it gets in Sin City. Coyote calls from the hills. Police sirens, rising, falling, cutting through the traffic's white-noise roar. My right calf is beginning to cramp up and I'm thinking about down stairs and getting my money back from the bellhop. When I hear the jangle of keys at the door and they come in… "This is the last time Karin. It's got to be the last time." CLICK! "What ever you say

Sasori." "I mean it, this time." She glides out of her coat like it was Christmas wrapping, playing it for all it's worth. And it's worth plenty. She's got of figure you notice. It's her voice that spoils everything. CLICK! A little girl's voice, all squeaky and mousy and bubbly with false innocence. "I had a dream about you last nigh, Benny. It was a nice dream. Do you want to hear it?" "No. No dreams tonight. I haven't got the time. I haven't got any time. I have to get home soon. And this is the end for us. The last time. I

can't go on taking the chance." "What ever you say Sasori. You give the orders. You're the boss." She adds a good half-dozen extrasyllables to "boss", the-teeth hiss that's all business. And already he's breathing hard, the jerk. CLICK! "It's Shizune, damn her. She's asking all kinds of questions. She suspects something. She'll sue. She'll get everything. Everything I worked so hard for. You're damn right I work my butt off. Night and day. I always have. Built my business up out of nothing. Nothing. Nothing." "And nobody appreciates you, do they, Sasori? Not like you deserve." "No. No body. Not the employees I keep off food stamps and not Shizune,

damn her. My own wife. Living in that house I bought her. Wearing those clothes I bought her. With my money. My hard earned money. And she doesn't appreciate a damn thing. She doesn't even try understand the kind of pressure I'm under. She doesn't even try. Damn her. She's always coming at me. Always making demands. Never giving me a break. Just like all those lazy bums who wouldn't have a pay check if I didn't sign it. They can get sick, but me? Not A CHANCE!" "It's because you're so strong." "You're damn

right about! But do I get any credit? Hell, no! They just take and take! One of these days I'll fire the whole pack of them! Show them who's the big man! Show them who's the boss! "You can show me, Sasori." CHINKK "You can show me who's boss." SNAP "I will…" SNAP "I'll show you…" Then she's moaning and saying "boss" in time with his grunts. It's all over pretty quickly. CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! I get everything I need. The sad thing is that some the compositions I pick are pretty good. "Oh, God, Sasori that was just incredible. You make me feel like a woman. I know that sounds corny, but it's. So true. It takes a real man to make a girl feel like

this." "I love you, baby. You, know I love you." "I love you too, Sasori. You're all the man I'll ever need. I count the minutes, when you're gone. I honestly do. My writs hurt, Sasori. Think you could get the keys? They're right in my purse." "You don't have any idea how much I love you. How much I've scarified. It's tearing me up inside…" "Sasori what are you doing?" "It's tearing me up! How much I have to do! But I've worked hard! Damn hard! And Shizune would get everything! It's all her fault! I don't have any choice!"

Sasori. No. Please. I won't tell anybody." "I know you won't want to talk, Karin. I know that…" "Oh, my aching back…" "…But you're only human. And Shizune will offer a lot of money. My money. My own money and she'll use it to bring me down…" "I'll go away. I'll leave town and go someplace she'll never find me." "Yeah? And how will you get there? Fly? And who will pay for the ticket? The ticket and God knows what else! An apartment? A car? Clothes? You'll suck me dry and you'll never stop!" "Sasori I beg you, baby…"

"Don't make this any harder than it is, damn you! KAHHHHH "KILL HIM! KILL HIM!" WHUDDD "BLAGG" "No body's killing anybody. Not while I'm around." "Then can I have a ride?" She ask, using her real voice this time, a voice that's left innocence a life time behind. I grab the keys and un cuff her. I leave the jerk for hose-keeping. On the way out she gives him a kick that'll still hurt likehell when he comes to. I take Redondo over the hill, toward Old Town. It takes longer that way, but I figure with the way she's shaking

she could use the time to settle down. At first all she can do is sob and blow her nose and smoke cigarettes. She smokes six cigarettes. She just about pulled herself together when some crazy blonde cuts us off making poor Karin jump out of her skin. SCREECH Driving like a bat out of hell, that one. Crazy. There's never a good reason for breaking the speed limit. The last I see of Karin, she's fixed her makeup and she's sauntering away like a pro, tossing me a wave and wink, one hooker to another. "Thanks for

my life, man!" The she blends into the sea of flesh that is Old Town. Old Town. Where beauty is cheap, provided all you want to do is look. But if you're ready to pay you can have anything you can imagine. I hold tight to the wheel to keep my hands from shaking. I pull out and cut back over the hill. Out. Away. I put the game on and pray it will chase away the memories, of drunken mornings and sweaty sex and stupid, bloody brawls. "And Rock Lee's wide open. He shoots. SCORE!" You can't just pick and choose. You can't take

the good without the bad. Not once you let the monster out. The team's up by twelve late in the third when I pull up to Jiraiya's I should be home in time to catch the fourth-quarter replay at eleven. "Well, I'll be God damned if it isn't clean liver himself! What've you got for me, boy?" "The Akatasaki job. Two rolls." Jiraiya's eating, like always. And he's cheerful, also like always. It's Jiraiya who got me into these marital jobs. It's his specialty. He tosses me work. He can't handle because he's so fat. He keeps half the money,

which I think is far, considering I get to use his darkroom until I can afford my own equipment. Which I hope is soon, because even though I'm grateful to the guy for the work, Jiraiya makes me sick. "The Akatasaki job? God damn! I knew that bum couldn't keep it in his pants much longer! You catch the game? Our boy Rock Lee is kicking butt?" "Yeah. The Blues might just go all the way this year. I'm hoping to catch the replay at eleven." If I had to nail it down, I'd say the main reason Jiraiya makes me sick is how much

he loves his job. "Oh, yeah…oh, boy… Oh, yeah... Just look at them… …Will you get a load of those hooters? Straight out of Play Boy magazine! And knowing you didn't get yourself a piece of that, did you? Nah, not clean liver. Not the boy scout. Handcuffs. It's funny, you know. How many of them go for the handcuffs. Especially the businessmen. And the judges, too. You wouldn't believe how many judges go for the cuffs. Some of them like the gals to wear them, some like to put them on themselves. I tell ya, I could write a

book…" Maybe tomorrow I'll go to the Times and crawl on my belly and beg Kakashi for my old job back. Maybe he'll give me a break. He said I deserved a Pulitzer, once. But that was than. I drive ten blocks out of my way and stop for gas I don't need, screwing up my courage for the worst of it. The wife. This one's got a lawyer to pay the tab and do the talking, so it's easier. "…In cash, as you requested. You may be called upon for a deposition. Please leave by the side exit." The Mustang shudders angry, acting

like the wild horse was named after, begging to cut loose and show what it can do. I don't let it. I've got the radio turned on to some Lonely Hearts talk show, but I'm not listening. One more time, I sort through the broken pieces of my past. And like always, they come together to form the same, sorry picture. I think about all the ways I've screwed up and what I'd give for one clear chance to wipe the slate clean. To dig my way out of the numb, grey hell I've made of my life. I'd give anything. Just to cut loose. Just to feel

the fire. One more time. VROM! "No!" SCREECHH! "No. Damn it. No. Never. Never. Never lose control. Not for one second. Never. Never let the monster out."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Fourth-quarter replay. "And it's Sasuke on a fast break and there's Rock Lee with a steal. What a steal! Tearing up court. He shoots. Fouled hard. It needs a bounce. Yes! SCORE!" RING! "And they're calling a flagrant foul on Sasuke! That's it! He is out there! Rock Lee shoots the foul. Yes! SCORE!" RING! "Hello?" "This one's history folks…" "Itachi? Is that you?" "Hinata." "I'm sorry to call. I know I've got no right. But I need to see you. Tonight please, Itachi. Don't hang up. Please." She keeps talking. And like an idiot, I keep

listening. Hinata. Damn. I should tell her to go hell. Instead I give myself a shave I don't need and I show up twenty minutes early. Hinata. Damn. What the hell could she want with me now. "He'd deserve it… GLAKK" "Sure, Shino. Let's get you home." You can't drive two blocks in Sin City without coming across a saloon. This one's a country joint, the bad kind. It's not the kind of place I'd expect her to know about, let alone go to. I grab myself one last lungful of night air. Then I trade it in for a smoky sweat and vomit

and booze and blood. I know the flavor well. "How's it going, Zabuza?" "You know Itachi. Some old, some old. Haven't see you in a dog's age, pal. You been out of town?" "No, just busy. You take care Zabuza." Zabuza's a guy you've got to be careful around. He doesn't mean any harm, but he causes plenty. The poor slob. Just another loser in a joint that's full of them. Why here, Hinata? It's not like you. No, with you everything always had to be first class. All the way. And when I couldn't foot the bill, you sure as hell found some body who could. I order up a ginger ale and stare at it for the better part of an hour. And like always, she's worth the wait.

"Itachi…how long has it been? Four years?" "Sound about right. Have a seat." She asks for some kind of scotch nobody's ever heard of, then settles for what they have. Not like her to drink hard stuff. The cigarettes are a surprise too. Used be she couldn't stand the smell of them. "So many times I've wanted to call you. I've found myself thinking about you…" "I've got places to be. How about you just tell me want you want." She moves close, all vulnerable, a deer caught in the head lights. I could slug her. "Don't be cold, Itachi.

I don't think I could stand that, right now. I must still mean something to you. You came here. You must still care. Just a little bit." "Sure. You called and I came running. You've still got that much of a hold on me and maybe you always will. But I've got no reason at all to be nice about it. Not after what you did to me." "I guess I deserved that." "There's no guessing to it. You deserve that and a whole lot more. You don't know what I went through. How bad it got. Maybe if you'd fallen in love with the slob I could've handled it.

But you didn't love him. You've never loved anybody. Money was all you were after. You tossed me away for cash. So let's not screw around. I'm here. I'm listening. You just tell me what the hell you it is you want." "There's only one thing I want from you! And I want it so desperately I could scream! I want you to forgive me!" "Oh. Now. I get it. You've got a conscience after all. And it's bugging you. Fine. You're forgiven. You got your wish. Go home. Sleep tight." "You're right about me! I'm nothing about a selfish slut who threw

away the only man ever loved! Just like you said! But I was wrong! Wrong! I'm in hell, Itachi. It's worse than you can imagine…oh, God… I wish I could go back in time. Back to the way it was. To you and me. I'm such a fool. Such a selfish, stupid slut…" "You made your bed. Sleep in it." "Forgive me, darling. I beg you. I love you." "You do that again and I swear to hell I'll kill you." "If you can't forgive me darling, then please remember me. They say you never really die as long as some body remembers you." "What the devil

are you taking about?" "Mrs. Yakushi you are due at home." She gaps and grabs my arm and suddenly I'm playing Lancelot. "I'd say that's up Mrs. Yakushi." "This is none of your concern sir." "Is that clown giving you a hard time, Itachi? I'll take him down for you if you want. I got nothing going tonight. URPP" "Never mind, Itachi. It's too late. I'll go with him." "Too late for what, Hinata?" "For

everything. Just remember me, my love. Remember me." "?... Buddy, I don't mean to poke my nose in where it don't be long, but that there is a dame to kill for. Why'd you let her go?" The night air hasn't gotten any colder. It just feels that way. Hinata. Damn!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The next day goes by all right. I keep distracted. I pay my rent and rotate my tires. I go see three movies. I don't think about Hinata. Too often. Then night falls and there's nowhere to hide. There's no game on, nobody to call. I try to read but it just won't happen. So I get into bed and close my eyes and remind myself about all reasons why I shouldn't give a damn about Hinata. Doesn't work. The wrong memories keep popping up. She ripped my soul a part and tossed away the pieces like she was emptying an ashtray. But does my mind stay on that? Hell, no! It brings back that look she had in hers when I told her about my dad. That time

we smoked pot and got the giggles and couldn't stop. That crazy way she got scared in the middle of the night and started crying and how I held her close to me until dawn. And yeah, I remember the fire in her, the feel of her breasts, the taste she left in my mouth. Hinata. What am I doing smoking? Where did I get these cigarettes? Never let the monster out. It's Hinata. Making you crazy, all over again. Shake her off. Forget her she's in for, she deserves it. But does she deserve to die? That's what she said. That's she was going to die. Maybe it's all a pack of lies. Some sick joke she's pulling on me for the sheer cruelty of it. I have to know. It shouldn't

take too much effort to get to the bottom of this. Just a simple job of breaking, punishable by up to five years in the slammer, if I'm caught. It takes a half hour to climb the hill out of Sin City, up to where the air blows cool and the rich folks. Live. And they don't get much richer than Kabuto Yakushi. The guy dines with Hyugas and Sarutobis. Kabuto Yakushi. Hinata's husband. She's got it all. Why drag me into her life? I'm a cockroach to people like this. It's crazy. Unless what she said is true. Unless she's going to get killed. I have to know. The gate's pretty standard stuff, no monitor detectors, not in coyote country. I just hope I'm not making a total ass of

myself. My telescopic lens lets me have a look around. I wind up seeing a lot more of Hinata than I bargained for. Hinata maybe have picked up a few bad habits, over the years. But sure as hell kept in shape. "FREEZE PERVERT! Don't move a muscle! I said FREEZE!" BREKK "YAAAA OFF! YAAAAAAAAAA" CRASH "Let me through, Asuma! "I must ask you what you are doing here, sir." "Making a total ass of myself." "He was taking pictures of Mrs. Yakushi, the pervert." The big guy it was him who took Hinata away from the saloon. But he doesn't seem to recognize me. Better let them think I'm just a peeping Tom whatever trouble Hinata's in I don't want to make

it worse. A door slides open with a whisper. Kabuto Yakushi looks me over like I'm something that fell out the back of a horse. Which is pretty much how I feel about myself right this minute. "And what do we have here, Kisame?" "An intruder sir. A voyeur, by all apathetic don't you think?" "I like to take pictures. I know its wrong I'm getting help. But sometimes I can't stop myself. I don't hurt anybody." "We needn't involve the police in this, need we?" "No, sir. I have the situation well in hand." "Very well, then. Tend to him." "Yes, sir. Sleep well, sir." "And for goodness sake, Hinata. Do get some clothes, on yourself." "Rot in hell, Kabuto." "Hmph!" For

a second it's like he does recognize me, after all. Then his eyes go cold, a killer's eyes. SKRUKK An atom bomb goes off between my legs. WHUKK KRAKK A freight train barrels into my jaw. Another train. Somewhere far away, Hinata screams. The sounds go wet. Maybe he keeps hitting me. I don't know. I'm gone. Gone to that place where is no pain or thought. I wake up in mid-air. The pavement rushes up to give me a big sloppy kiss. "KHEFF KHAGG" I find a pay phone and call Jiraiya and ask him to come and ask him to come and pick me up. He makes me promise to buy him a tank of gas and a pizza with the works. I guess I black out again.

"JEUS on a STICK! You ain't gone back on the sauce, have you, kid?" "No. I just got mugged." Jiraiya pulls over at a Chinese joint and sucks back sweet-and-sour road kill while I mop the blood off my face. Then we pick up that pizza I promised him. "I would a bet my right nut you been hitting the bottle again, seeing you like that… Man, you were a bad one back then. I tell ya. I could write a book…" Another stop, this one for chil burgers. Somewhere along the way I realize I don't have my keys. I'll have to pick my own lock. "?" Then I spot my mustang, which makes no sense. "My word, Mr. Uchiha. Just look at you. You're not having trouble again, are you?"

"No. I got mugged." Why would they return my car? It doesn't make any sense. My door's not locked. That's not my coat. Her purse. Her Cigarette smoke. My bedroom. "Get of here." "No." "I mean it. Put your clothes back on and get out of her. Now." "No. You had your change. I would have stayed away. You never would have seen me again. But you came for me. You risked your life. You still care. You still want me. And I'm yours now. Tonight." "You make me sick. You and this crazy game you're playing. Get out of my life once and for all or I'll bash your teeth in. Go back to your mansion. Or go to hell. I don't care which." "Do you want me to beg? Would

that amuse you? I'll beg. I'll grovel. I have no shame. I'm nothing. I'm dirt. I'm a lying treacherous whore who's going to get what I deserve. But I must you first. Tonight. Now, tonight and never again. If you can't love me hate me. If you can't forgive me punish me." "Okay." KRAKK I call her every foul name there is. She makes my name sound like music, like a chant to some dark God. She's slippery with sweat. Before long my hatred's spent but she won't let go. She kisses and coaxes me and the fire grows again. I'm dragged to the ground by a jungle cat. She devours me and I think her for it. We sob and shrivel and bawl out loud like a couple of

snot-nosed kids. We melt together. The shudder runs through us as I scream her name. Hinata. Hinata! I say all the things I swore I'd never say again. She owns me. Body and soul. Her voice goes flat, hopeless. "I thought I was ready to die. I'm not. I thought night would make it easier. It doesn't. Kabuto's going to get his wish, after all. I'll beg him to let me live. Because of you. He's a madman. A madman. He tortures me. It gives him pleasure. It makes him feel powerful. Kisame the man who beat you. He's a

specialist at inflicting pain. Hideous pain, in all the places you just gave me joy… …Kabuto talks and talks and watches while Kisame uses his needles and his fingers. The fingers are the worst of it. He doesn't leave a mark on me. At least he hasn't so far. But it's worse each time He's getting closer to his sick climax. Lately, Kabuto's shown me… Devices from Spain and China and Africa. He shows me how they work. He says I'll be very ugly, before I die." "No, Hinata. You aren't going to die. You're coming with me." Her

laugh is black and bottomless. "No, darling. No. He'd find us. He'd find us and he'd kill you and I couldn't stand knowing I caused that. He let's me run away. He laughs about it! He knows Kisame will find me!" "I'll find away! I swear I will! He'll never get his hands on you again!" KREEEK! "You have been very bad, Mrs. Yakushi. Mr. Yakuski will require that you be disciplined. Come along. I will fetch your coat." "No, Itachi. Don't fight him. He'll kill you. He's not human. He'll kill you." "You would do well to listen to her, sir." "Itachi!

No! I beg you, my love. HE'LL KILL YOU!" FAPP I punch a vault door. FAPP It doesn't fall down, so I punch it again. WHUDD A wrecking ball hits me square in the chest. "HWUF COME ON I'm ready for you, you son of BITCH!" KASHH


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hinata screams my name. I come and go. Nothing makes any sense. Hinata screams my name. I came and go, rising out of it then sinking again, drowning, and drowning in something as think as pea soup and as black as death. Hinata screams my name. With an old man's arms I climb my way back up. "HNH?" I spit out the pea soup and let the headlights chase away the black spots. "WHUFF" KUWK SCREEECHH! KUNK HONK!

SCREEEEH! The monster in my gut uncurls itself and erupts from my throat with an endless bloody roar. They can't take her away from me not this time. I know exactly what to do. I know exactly this time I don't fight the smells or the memories. I suck it all in like nectar, letting it make me strong and mean and sure. A voice that's made of out ratty speakers, singing something about bourbon and patriotism. It's so loud I feel the beat

like a punch in the chest. Sakura's got the crowed worked up to a near-drool. She maybe showing off everything she's got in a joint filled with horny drunks, but Sakura's the safest gal in the world. Everybody keeps their hands to themselves. They know what happens to you if you don't. I try to be patient I try not to think about what Kabuto Yakushi is doing to Hinata right now. "I was a big deal! GLAKK" "Well, will you look

at whose back from the dead!" "Hi, Ino. It's been awhile." Hold on, baby. Just hold on. I'm coming for you. I'll carry you out of that mansion if I have to burn the place to the ground. But I can't do it alone. I need somebody bigger and meaner than me to run interference and to take Kisame down the hard way. "It's been six moths, Itachi. Six months and not so much as a lousy phone call." "Yeah, I guess I'm a real jerk sorry." "I

wasn't expecting flowers or anything, but a phone cal would've been nice. Your loss, wild man." "Sorry I'm a real jerk." "Cut off? In this is dive? I don't see you cutting off King Kong over there!" "He doesn't ever get cut off. And watch what you call him." "It's okay, Chiyo. He's from out of town. He doesn't know nothing." "Tell her man!" "We'll back you up!" Tourists this could get ugly. "Buddy maybe you ought to take some friendly

advice and haul on out of here. You've had a few too many. We all know what that's like. But you're headed for trouble, mouthing off like you been. Go get yourself some sleep." We'll back you up!" "Tell him off!" "I'm not taking any orders from you or from that cow, either big guy!" Zabuza's in altogether too generous a mood tonight. I'll have to do something about that. "You shouldn't ought to use like that. Not when it's a lady you're

talking about." "LADY"? "I don't know. She looks more like a cow to me!" "There's no call for getting nasty." It's okay Zabuza. Stay out of this one." "She smells like a cow too! But maybe that turns a guy like you on! If I looked like you, I'd settle for a cow!" "You are really pushing it." "Hell, I bet cows are great! You get all those extra hooters to play with!" "You better shut your trap and get lost." "Show him, man! Show him!" "I got

something that makes me bigger guy than you, ugly!" "Now that there is one damn big gun. Cool speed rig, too. Must've set you back a bundle. I got to tell you, I'm impressed. I really am." "He's begging for it man! Blow him away! We'll back you up!" "I will! I'll do it! I'll blow your damn head off! Now set 'em up, cow!" "Okay another round on the house. It's okay, Zabuza. No trouble." "Yeah, we all have a few too many

sometimes. It just gets my goat when guys talk about dames that way." "MOOOOO" "You're really starting to honk me off. "MOOOOOO" KRAKK! KRUNCH! "Bunch of pansies…" "I could use some sleep." "Owe the wife a call." "Get a good start in the morning." "Zabuza I need your help." "Itachi! I didn't even see you there, buddy! What can I do you for?" "It's bad, Zabuza. It means going up against a lot of guns." "Count me in.

Boy, that Sakura sure is something…" Every body keeps their hands to themselves. They've seen what happens to you if you don't. Sakura's got a guardian angel. Seven feet plus of muscle and mayhem that goes by the name of Zabuza. Most people think Zabuza is crazy, but I don't believe that. I'm no shrink or anything but "crazy" just doesn't explain him. Not to me. Some times I think he's retarded, a big brutal kid who never

learned the ground rules about how people are supposed to act around each other. But that doesn't have the right ring to it either. No, it's more like there's nothing wrong with Zabuza, nothing at all except that he had the rotten luck of being born at the wrong time in history. He'd have be right at home on some ancient battlefield, swinging an ax into somebody's face. Or in a Roman arena taking a sword to other gladiators like

him. They'd have tossed him girls like Sakura, back then. And now all he can do is watch. So we watch Sakura and we finish of the bottle, its liquid darkness fill us both. When I'm sure he'd enough to make him good and dangerous I tell him about Hinata and his eyes go killer red. I know he's willing to die for me, if that's what it takes. The poor slob. I'm using him. So I'm using him. So what? So he breaks the faces I want him to break

instead of some body's else. So he helps me get Hinata back in my arms instead of sleeping it off in a flop-house or a gutter or a drunk-tank. His life isn't worth a damn anyway. If I don't get him killed, the world will, one or the another. It has to kill him. It's got no place for him. The Poor slob. I hate myself.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I've have seen Zabuza with a gun before. The way he plays with it is really disturbing. I finally realize how beat up I am somebody's taken a power sander to the skin of my back and worked my kidneys over with a jack-hammer. My spine is a tangled chain. My skull where my face ought to be. My tongue moves all on its own, probing a sore till a molar comes loose. I spit it out with a chuckle and Zabuza shoots me a look, then gives with a crooked smile, like

he knows how I feel. "I mean it, Zabuza, I want you to leave that thing in the car. Nobody's going to get killed tonight." "Aw, Itachi. You're no fun at all." He's wrong about that. I'm not like him. We split up at the gate. It doesn't take Zabuza long to get their attention. CRASH! "GRAAA…YOU! YOU'RE THE BUM WHO HURT MY PAL!" CRASH! WHUDD WHUDD WHUDD WHUDD WHUDD WHUDD WHUDD WHUDD WHUDD HEFF HEFF HEFF KHOFF WHUDD WHUDD WHUDD WHUDD WHUDD Kabuto Yaushi. Hinata's husband. "Where is she? Where's Hinata? What

have you done with her?" "I haven't the slightest notion of what sort of nonsense my wife has filled your head with, stranger or do I care. The woman is utterly pathological… "Get away from that desk. I'm warning you, man. Don't give me an excuse." BLAM! THOK! KRAK! KRAK! KRAK KRAK "Oh, Jesus. Oh, Jesus. I killed him. Oh, Jesus." "You sure did. I knew I could count on you. Sex always made you stupid. Ready to believe anything. And you that temper of yours. You never could control it. You've murdered an innocent man, darling. And you've made me very

rich woman. THANKS, SUCKER!" BLAM! "Hinata. No." BLAM! "I'm afraid I'm not a terribly good shot. This might take awhile. It'd be so much simpler if Kisame were here to kill you, like he's supped to be. Goodness knows what's keeping him. Sweetheart do us a favor and stay still long enough for me to blow your brains out." "Hinata. You can't be doing this." "I can do whatever I what, you schmuck! "I'm in charge here" God, I've waited years to say

that. Years. Night after night, flat on my back making all right noises while Kabuto did what you men do. I waited. I planed. For the moment I could have it all. I knew it work! I knew it!" "HUK HUKK BLAGGG" "Sorry to be such a chatter box. I can't help myself. This is never get the chance to stop acting to stop playing. To let somebody see the real me. Maybe it's for the best that Kisame didn't show up, after all. It's only right that I get to share this

moment with you." "You're insane!" "Insane? Ha! That's so easy, so convenient and so wrong. Crazy people push shopping carts and talk nonsense. Crazy people sit in padded cells and soil their pants. A mad woman couldn't have pulled this off. No. There's a word for what I am, but nobody uses it anymore. Nobody what to see the simple truth. If they did they'd kill people like me as soon as we revealed ourselves. But they don't. They close their eye and

blather about psychology and say nobody is truly evil. That's why I've won. That's why I always win." BLAM! "Thanks for listening to all that honey." BLAM! "?" BLAM! KASHH THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUD BLAM! BLAM! SPAK CLICK CLICK CLICK "DAMN! Hmm… Oh officer… I was so terrified… There was blood everywhere!... "Blood everywhere" …That's good… Is this the police, Oh, God! It's horrible! Come quickly! It's

horrible! There's blood everywhere! I think he's dead! My husband! He's not moving! I heard gun shots and Itachi was beating him! He wouldn't stop! There's blood everywhere! I'm sorry! I'll try to make sense! I'm Hinata Yakushi! "It's my husband Kabuto! That's right! Kabuto Yakushi! Yes! I saw him! It was Itachi! Itachi Uchiha! He's crazy! Crazy! He's been making threats! And now there's blood everywhere! Please hurry!" TIK! "The richest woman in Sin

City… HA HA HA HA HA HA HA" HONK " I handled that big guy just like I promised, Itachi. Hell, I didn't kill him. Six months in traction, tops. I took an eye out of him, though. You know they made a couple dozen of these babies? I saw a movie about it once. Anyways, I'm sorry about your Mustang and I'll go back for it once we got you patched up." I'm quacking cold from head to toe. All my warmth squirts out of me, keeping perfect time with my heartbeat.

One of my lungs sucks air through a hole in my chest every time I loosen my grip on it. "Never mind about my car, Zabuza. I got friends there. And could you turn that radio down?" I don't think I've ever been shot up as bad as this before. "You kidding? That's Might! Might Guy! The greatest country singer there ever was!" I'm a jerk and an idiot and a murder on my way to becoming a corpse, and Zabuza is taking about Might Guy. "…I thought old Might had

gone all squishy, singing crap like "You Put Me A Natural High" I couldn't believe it when he sang that one. I mean what's next, "You Light Up My Life"? Christ… …But this new tune… KUMP! EEEE …This "Me And Crippled Soldiers" this is a good as he ever was. Just shows you to go you. You never can tell. Sorry…" EEE "PULL OVER! "Here I am jabbering with leaking all over the place. You're damn lucky all that dame had was a .32…" "OOF!" "…We wouldn't

even be having this conversion if she'd used a real gun on you. Even so, getting shot in the face isn't high on my list of how to have a good time. Just hold on. I'll get you to a guy I know." "YAAAA" KUNK "He's good with bullets and he don't ask questions." "No. Old Town. Take me to Old Town." "Let me level with you, pal. I know something

about these things and you ain't going to make it to Old Town. That's a good twenty minutes away and you're about ten minutes from being." "I'll make it. I won't die. I've got too much I have to do to let myself die.


End file.
